At the present time many porous ceramics used in pollution control devices (for example, particulate filters or filter traps, and flow-through catalyst supports) are manufactured using pore formers to increase the ceramic porosity; for example, carbon particles, graphite, and starches among others are used as pore forming agents. However, the use of materials such as carbon particles, graphite and starches as pore former can lead to high exotherms during the firing cycle and to slow and/or very complex firing schedules, such as in batch kilns. It is the object of the present disclosure to present a novel method using selected materials for making porous ceramic particulate filter traps that have suitable porosity and lower exotherms during the firing process.